Lorian, Elder Prince and Lothric, Younger Prince
Lorian, Elder Prince and Lothric, Younger Prince, also known as the Twin Princes, are a pair of bosses in Dark Souls III. They are the final of the five Lords of Cinder encountered by the Ashen One. Description Both brothers have lengthy gray silver hair and pale skin, similar to Irithyllians, and have lanky bodies. Lorian is a knight with black armor and long hair, armed with a flaming greatsword. He is mute and crippled, with legs so weak that he is unable to stand on them for more than a second, though he is much larger than his sibling, Lothric. Lothric appears much more frail, and has black veins. He wears a black robe with golden decorations and during the second phase he will teleport down and hold on to his brother's back, using an unfamiliar holy light energy that functions like crystal sorceries of the highest level. Location The Twin Princes are found at the top of Lothric Castle, after clearing the Grand Archives. The player must cross the second of the great bridges, which is guarded by a large number of entrenched Hollow Soldiers, as well as blue-uniformed red-eyed Lothric Knights. There are two accessible elevator shortcuts to this boss. The first is found at the end of the Grand Archives, immediately after defeating Lion Knight Albert, Black Hand Kamui and Daughter of Crystal Kriemhild, and before the great bridge where the path diverges to allow the player to access Gertrude's prison. The elevator here takes the player down to the Grand Archives bonfire. The second is at the end of the great bridge and before entering Lothric's throne room, an elevator on the right will take the player down to the area beyond the castle keep, to the intersection that leads to the Dragonslayer Armour and Sunlight Altar. The second elevator is a double lift that contains a Titanite Slab at the bottom. Lore Lothric and Lorian (along with Ocelotte) are the sons of King Oceiros and the queen of Lothric.Divine Blessing description. Their eldest, Lorian was once a mighty knight who single-handedly defeated the Demon Prince, staining his sword with the power of fire.Lorian's Greatsword description. Lothric appears to have had little combat training, if any, and Ocelotte's status is currently unknown. What is known is that their mad father called Ocelotte a "child of dragons" and claimed he had a special power, but what exactly this means is unclear considering the sanity of the speaker.Dialogue of Oceiros, the Consumed King. The kingdom of Lothric, which shared the name of the middle son, was a mighty land in the mountains. It was famous for its dragonslayers, developing special tools to slay them, but eventually began to tame dragons through unknown means.Lightning Urn (Dark Souls III) description. The kingdom included three organizations called the Three Pillars Of Lothric, likely called this for some vital role they played to the rulers. * The Knight was, as the name suggests, the fighting forces that held the warriors. It was permitted to tame drakes for battle, which became a symbol of Lothric's power.Knight's Ring description. With their dragons and weapons originally designed for them, sometimes amplified by miracles, the knights of Lothric crushed all who threatened their shores.Lothric Knight Sword description. When the Scholars fully acquired the archives, the Knight strengthened ties with the High Priestess.Blessed Weapon description. Those that directly attended to her were blessed with her holy power.Lothric Knight Greatshield description. * The High Priestess appears to attend to the faith of Lothric. The current is Emma, who was the wet nurse to the prince Lothric when he was much younger.Priestess Ring description. They are connected to the Way of Blue and the Warriors of Sunlight, the latter likely because of the kingdom's worship of the sun and their dragonlslaying past. Another faith was developed by the Heavenly Daughter Gertrude, the queen's holy maiden and rumored daughter,Bountiful Light description. who was visited by a member of a race of divine messengers called the Angels and recorded the message despite being rendered blind and mute from it.Divine Pillars of Light description. This led to the Winged Knights being formed and of the Angelic faith becoming prevalent across the kingdom, with heavenly miracles being used and taught, though the religion was considered heresy and none of the pillars recognized it as the faith.Winged Knight Armor piece description. * The Scholar was likely the academic center of Lothric, and for their importance, gained access to the Grand Archives near the main castle.Scholar Ring description. Because of this, though it is not clear why, both the Knight and the clerics of the High Priestess disliked them. During the hostilities between sorcerers and clerics, they captured Gertrude and imprisoned her in a cage, later experimenting on her sacred chime to develop a method of casting sorceries and miracles.Crystal Chime description. One day they were visited by the preacher twins, two sorcerers who had mastered the arts created by the sorcerer Logan as a sorcerous "translation" of the magic made by Seath. These twins, called the Crystal Sages, trained the Scholars and gave them spiritual guidance in their research.Soul of a Crystal Sage description. Their research was just as foul as that of Seath's, who they worshiped as the Paledrake, and without special equipment it could induce madness in them.Scholar's Shed Skin description. In particular, King Oceiros became interested in these works, seeking to use his royal blood for a greater purpose. The first of the Scholars, who doubted the linking of the fire, was prince Lothric's private teacher.Soul Stream description. * While not a pillar of the rule, the Hunters were a skilled contingent of fighters that worked in the shadows, and often went places outside of Lothric's borders.Hunter's Ring description. They were critical to the rule, acting in ways that the Three Pillars could not. It appears that some of the requirements were dexterity, marksmanship with the bow, and most appear to use dual weapons. When a hunter was kept from the previous rule, they were called a Black Hand, and only three among the Hunters have become Black Hands.Black Hand Armor piece description. Two of them were Gotthard with his dual knight swords, and the prince's protector Kamui from the east, who forged a second blade for the purpose of joining the ranks. The royal family, specifically that of Oceiros' rule, desired to create a child so strong that it could be the perfect candidate to link the First Flame while surviving as a Lord of Cinder. But it is said that when they could not biologically produce a strong enough heir, the family committed an unnamed deed so heinous and foul that it cursed Lothric.Cinders of a Lord description. Some connect this deed to the search for Seath's moonlight conducted by the king after discovering the pale dragon's worship by the Scholars,Soul of Consumed Oceiros description. though this is merely a speculation, and the nature of the curse remains vague. But the deed was done, and Lothric was destined to burn, and become a Lord of Cinder. Despite this, he was a frail small boy with poor health all to his adulthood, and was so small that he was still able to wear his swaddling in the form of robes.Prayer Set piece description. For reasons unknown, his elder brother Lorian decided to share his brother's curse, and was left mute and with almost useless legs because of it.Lorian's Armor piece description. Because of this, they are inseparable in soul, and Lorian could not die unless Lothric did.Soul of the Twin Princes description. From all this, they were also inseparable in kinship, fueled by their grief for the events that transpired in their family.Twin Princes' Greatsword description. Since the two were linked so closely that their souls could nearly meld together, both brothers would be required to link the flame. Due to some combination of occurrences that may or may not include the unspeakable nature of Lothric's birth, his teacher's own doubts, and the state of the world despite countless sacrifice, they rejected their duty to become Lords of Cinder and watched the fire fade from a distance. Due to the chosen sacrifice refusing to burn, a contingency plan was activated, where previous Lords of Cinder were woken, to offer their remaining strength to the flame. But when the bell tolled to signify the fading of the flame, only Ludleth of Courland was willing to help, and the other three forsook the flame for various reasons of their own. Yhorm is believed to have been filled with such despair over the loss of his home (which he sacrificed himself to prevent) to care for the flame, Aldrich received more visions of the inevitable end that he was merely instructed to prevent,Soul of Aldrich description. and the Abyss Watchers either went mad or were corrupted by the Abyss buried beneath their keep. One day the High Wall appeared, a massive seismic upheaval of the land beneath the castle, raising it high above the bridge that once lead to it. There was no route to leave, messengers had no way to return, and pilgrims were unable to seek refuge.Small Lothric Banner description. Many people have attempted to kill the Twin Princes, but they have barricaded themselves, and the kingdom is consumed in war without their participation. The Knight and the High Priestess, who Lothric has forsaken the lives of while placing all favor in the Scholars, become undead then hollow in a battle with each other, the Winged Knights of Gertrude's faith, and a small force of Outrider Knights, including the Dancer and her "watchdog" compatriot Vordt, sent by the Pontiff Sulyvahn to hinder the Unkindled. Summons *Orbeck of Vinheim: after giving him all four sorcery scrolls and purchasing all of his available spells, he will disappear from Firelink Shrine, and will be available as a summon. His sign appears at the end of the great bridge, on a rampart to the left. *Sirris of the Sunless Realms: after completing her quest line by helping her defeat Holy Knight Hodrick and accepting her request to serve as your knight, her summon sign will appear to the left of the boss fog. Fight overview When the player enters the throne room, they will view a cutscene where Lothric, Younger Prince addresses them, stating his disdain for his duty to become a Lord of Cinder. During this, Lorian, Elder Prince will crawl from the shadows and prepare to fight the Ashen One. The battle will begin with the player facing Lorian alone. While Lorian is crippled below the waist and has trouble moving by himself, he is aided by Lothric, who will use his magic to teleport Lorian around the arena, whether it is to a blind spot to the player's side or away to allow him to use his special attacks. All of Lorian's attacks deal moderate damage and inflict Fire damage, and he has numerous combos that can add up to quickly kill unwary players. Lorian's most powerful attack has him teleport away from the player, and then begin charging his sword with holy energy; after a few seconds, he will slam his sword into the ground and unleash a ray of light at the player, dealing extreme amounts of damage. As this attack is capable of killing players in a single hit, it is imperative to roll to avoid it at all costs. Once Lorian has been felled, another cutscene will take place with Lothric coming down from his bedstead to aid his brother, reviving him and then climbing onto his back. The battle will then recommence, with the player facing the Twin Princes. During the second phase, Lorian will possess the same abilities that he did before, however now he will be aided by Lothric, who adds his own attacks on top of Lorian's. These include a holy version of Homing Soulmass, as well as Soul Spear. Each brother has his own individual health bar, which can be damaged by attacking either target. As the Lord of Cinder is Lothric, the objective of the second phase is to focus all damage on him. If Lorian is killed again, Lothric will channel a spell to revive him; after a few seconds, he will unleash an area-of-effect explosion that will damage and knock back the player, and Lorian will be revived with most of his health, resuming the battle. Once Lothric's health bar has been depleted, Lorian will automatically fall as well, ending the battle. Attacks Lorian, Elder Prince *'Sword Swings': Lorian has a myriad of attacks and combos that he will perform when the player is nearby. They are relatively well-telegraphed and can be rolled through to avoid, but have short recovery times that make it hard to get more than one or two attacks in on Lorian at a time. As well, he also has various retaliatory attacks that allow him to hit players who manage to get behind him. Lorian's most common combo is two horizontal swings, sometimes followed by an overhead smash, though occasionally he will perform a forward stab instead. Lorian has a blind spot on his left (player's right) side where his swings can have trouble connecting. As well, his attacks are somewhat elevated, so lowering the player's hitbox through overhead attacks or certain weapon arts such as that of the Farron Greatsword can sometimes cause his swings to miss completely. All of Lorian's attacks deal split Physical and Fire damage, so if blocking his attacks a shield with high fire reduction such as Dragon Crest Shield or Black Iron Greatshield is recommended. *'Lunging Overhead': If the player is in front of Lorian and not within immediate melee range, Lorian may quickly lunge forward and bring his sword down in an overhead slash. This attack has almost no tell (Lorian will lurch down slightly and bring his left hand to the ground), so quick reactions are necessary in order to avoid it. Lorian will often use this attack in an attempt to punish players who retreat away to drink Estus or cast a spell/buff, however it can be avoided by backing far enough away. *'Dropping Strike': Lorian will raise himself to his feet, and then bring the weight of his whole body down on his sword into one powerful strike. As this attack is well-telegraphed, it can be reliably dodged by rolling to the side when he begins his fall. It is also possible to utilize invincibility frames to roll forward through the attack and end up near Lorian to attack him while he is recovering. *'Teleport': Lothric will teleport Lorian around the battle arena, allowing Lorian to quickly bring his attacks to bear on the player or to attack them from a blind spot to the player's side or back. When this happens, it is important to read Lorian's tell right before he disappears, because he will always resume his attack with that tell when he emerges, allowing players to predict which attack he will use after a short delay. This means that with good timing, even attacks from behind the player can be predicted and dodged with good rolling. Additionally, whenever the player enters the arena beyond the first encounter, Lorian will often greet the player with a teleporting attack, but will not do so if the player does not move away from the entrance fog for the first few seconds of the fight. *'Plunging Attack': Sometimes, before executing the overhead part of his three-slash combo, Lorian will teleport away. When he emerges, it will be right above the player, where he will bring the sword down in a plunging attack. This attack can usually be predicted by the teleportation circle appearing extremely close to the player but with nothing emerging from it on the ground, indicating that Lorian is above them. The best course of action is to immediately roll away, as the plunge has a narrow hitbox and predictable timing. Lorian will take some time to recover from this, allowing the player to get some attacks in. *'Fire Wave': Lorian will bring himself upright, holding his sword up to his right with both hands. He will then bring the sword down behind him and slash forward after a short delay, casting a wide wave of fire in front of him. The fire has moderate range and can be rolled through with good timing, or avoided entirely by being far enough away. Beware that the sword swing itself can also hit players, dealing heavy damage and launching them skyward. *'Holy Ray': After teleporting away from the player, Lorian will hold his sword above his head with both hands and begin charging it; the charging sound can be heard and can alert players to his location. Once it is finished, Lorian will bring the sword down, launching a long-reaching white flash that will pass through all obstacles and deal extremely high damage, often enough to kill players in a single attack regardless of health. Despite its appearance, this attack deals Fire damage, so it is possible to block or mitigate it with a good fire resistance shield. The attack has extremely good tracking but is very narrow, and can be avoided by rolling to the side. From the moment Lorian teleports away to the instant he releases the wave, players will have roughly 3.5 seconds to locate Lorian and prepare to dodge. The best way to time the roll is to execute it exactly when Lorian's sword hits the ground. In the second phase, Lothric will follow this attack up with a Holy Soul Spear, so the player must be prepared to roll twice. The timing for Lothric's attack is very predictable, however, and can be easily avoided. This attack has moderate recovery, allowing the player to cast buffs or drink Estus immediately afterward. Lothric, Younger Prince *'Holy Homing Soulmass': Lothric will wave his left arm, sending several white orbs into the air; he will always begin the second phase with this attack. After a short period of time, they will become active and home in on the player. They do not do much damage individually and have poor staggering potential, however they can quickly rack up damage if multiple orbs hit, especially if the player is also busy trying to avoid Lorian's sword swings. Lothric will usually cast this if the player tries to retreat to create distance. It is best to try to create some moderate distance away from the Twin Princes while dodging the orbs, but not so far as to trigger the teleportation. Try to bait Lorian into performing some sword swings, and then retreat out of range so that he cannot perform another attack while you are dodging the orbs. These orbs can be blocked by the pillars at the sides of the room. *'Holy Soul Spear': Lothric will charge energy in his left hand, and then send forward a spear of white light that can deal moderate damage to the player. He will usually perform this attack when the player is out of immediate range of any of Lorian's attacks. It has predictable timing and can be easy to dodge, however it can interrupt players attempting to create distance to use Estus or cast a spell. Lothric always follows up on Lorian's Holy Ray with this attack, meaning that the player must roll twice. *'Revive': Once Lorian's health bar has been depleted, Lothric will begin praying for a few seconds, during which he is extremely vulnerable to damage. However, at the end of his prayer he will unleash a Wrath of the Gods, damaging and knocking back any players who are still nearby. From the moment when Lorian has been felled to when the knockback is triggered, the player will have approximately 7.5 seconds to attack and retreat. Lorian will be revived with about 60% of his health, and Lothric will climb back onto his back, resuming the battle. Strategy During the first phase, the player must defeat Lorian by dodging his attacks and attacking him during his recoveries. Good rolling is mandatory, as Lorian's attacks all deal extremely heavy damage and inflict Fire damage, meaning that even greatshields cannot completely mitigate damage. As Lorian's recovery windows are quite small, fast-swinging weapons such as straight swords are highly recommended in order to leave the player less vulnerable when Lorian begins attacking again. Lorian is extremely weak to Lightning damage, so use of Gold Pine Resin or Lightning Blade can allow players to quickly pass through the first phase. As well, dealing enough damage to Lorian in a short amount of time will stagger him, allowing the player to riposte him from the front. Whenever Lorian teleports, keep an eye on his tells to see which attack he was about to perform. When he emerges after a short delay, he will resume with that attack. Good timing means that no matter where Lorian attacks from, whether it is in front of or behind the player, a roll can be executed to avoid damage. As well, keep in mind that when entering the arena via fog door after the first encounter, Lorian will always start by teleporting near the player and attack. However, if the player remains in place as they enter, when he teleports, he will end up doing so near his initial location, giving the player the option to start the encounter in a less compromising way. The best way to fight Lorian is to always stay near him, giving him no opportunity to teleport to close the distance and attack the player from blind angles. Beware that using greatswords and larger is not recommended, as their long animations will give Lorian ample time to counter. Try to get in one or two quick swings, and then prepare to roll to dodge Lorian's retaliations. During the second phase, the player must defeat Lothric by getting behind Lorian during his attacks and striking Lothric directly. Depending on the weapon being used, Lothric may take less damage than Lorian from attacks that hit them both; Lothric is weak to slash and thrust damage, so weapons like katanas or thrusting swords may work well. However, Lothric also has almost twice as much health as Lorian, so it is very difficult to avoid a situation where Lothric can be defeated without felling Lorian at least once. As with the first phase, it is best to try to stay relatively close to the Twin Princes, as this gives Lothric less opportunity to cast his ranged spells. Bait Lorian's attacks, then roll in behind him and strike at Lothric whenever possible. When Lorian falls, try to deal as much damage to Lothric as possible, but be ready to immediately retreat in order to avoid the area-of-effect knockback that occurs when he revives Lorian. There is a short period of time when Lothric is getting back on Lorian's back where he is vulnerable to attacks, so be ready to rush in once the resurrection spell is complete. Each time he is revived, Lorian will have less health, however the quickest path to victory is to try to defeat Lothric before he can revive Lorian more than once. Dialogue |} Drops 100px | Guaranteed |Cinders of a Lord | Cinders of a Lord (Lothric, Younger Prince).png 100px | Guaranteed }} Notes *Lorian can be parried in both phases of the fight, although he cannot be riposted afterward. However, he can be poise-broken with continuous hits, allowing to perform a riposte on him. *Lothric's "Soul Spear" can be spell-parried, but timing has to be perfect. *If the player manage to complete first phase in position, where Lothric can't see him, they will remain inactive and engage the player only if either provoked or by getting in their line of sight. *If the player is killed or exits the game during the second phase of the battle, they will have to start it again from the first phase on return. Trivia *Despite the message "Lord of Cinder Fallen" appearing when they die, the flaming state they have in the second phase, and Lothric having a throne dedicated to him in Firelink Shrine, the Twin Princes are thought to not have ever linked the flame. There are several points in the game that confirm this: *#The description of their soul implies that they never became Lords of Cinder. *#After returning all Cinders of a Lord to their thrones, Lothric's head is the only one that still has its flesh. *#Lothric still retains his sanity, something that most dead/hollow and resurrected beings in the Dark Souls universe lack, suggesting that he never died. *#*This is made clear by the fact that they are not shown in the opening cutscene, meaning they were not resurrected when the bell tolled, and it is implied that Lothric never took his throne in the first place. *Prince Lothric could be considered the primary antagonist of the game, as most of the catastrophic events happening during the course of the story are due to his stubbornness and unwillingness to assume his duty to link the fire. As the figure with the highest power in Lothric, he proved to be a very inefficient leader, as his kingdom was left in total chaos and disarray, being invaded by the powerful forces of the much more organized Irithyll of the Boreal Valley under orders from Sulyvahn who presumably intended to feed them to Aldrich. *Prince Lothric is voiced by Harry Lister Smith, who also voiced Dark Sun Gwyndolin from Dark Souls. **Coincidentally, the two have identical complexions. *A glitch allows the player to lead Lorian out of the boss room. By quitting out at a precise time after Lothric is killed, when the player re-enters it will reward them with the cinders and soul, Lothric's dying dialogue will play and the fog wall will disappear, but the first phase will continue as normal. If the player leaves the boss room, Lorian can follow them out. Gallery The brothers.jpg|Lothric joining the battle Lorian.jpg|Lorian emerges to fight the player Rise.jpg|Lothric revives Lorian Welcome.jpg|Lothric welcomes the Ashen One Bedridden.jpg|Lothric in his chamber Lothric trophy.jpg|Trophy icon Videos Lorian, Elder Prince Boss Fight - Dark Souls 3 Prince Lothric & Lorian - Dark Souls 3 BLIND Part 53 - Let's Play Hard|Lorian and Lothric strategy (DEX/INT build) Music References pl:Lorian, starszy książę i Lothric, młodszy książę